San Diegans now have a safer and more convenient route to bike and walk through Mission Bay Park. After decades in the making, a bridge joining east and west Mission Bay over Rose Creek is open. This is an exciting milestone in our mission to protect and celebrate San Diego’s beaches, bays, clean air and quality of life.

I am proud to have joined bicyclists, joggers and beach-area neighbors to dedicate the new Mike Gotch Memorial Bridge on April 20. As past chairman of the Mission Bay Park Committee and an avid bicyclist, I can tell you this bridge has been eagerly anticipated by many in the beach community. Now, residents and visitors alike can more easily walk, run and bike throughout Mission Bay Park, one of San Diego’s crown jewels.

Located just west of Mission Bay Golf Course, the 260-foot bridge creates a scenic route and offers a safe, pedestrian- and bicycle-only alternative to using Grand Avenue. It fills the missing link between Pacific Beach Drive and North Mission Bay Drive. A total of 0.28 miles of new bikeway has also been constructed from Rose Creek to Lee Street between Mission Bay High School and Campland on the Bay.

This bridge better connects San Diego’s beach bicycle network, our beautiful bay and a man who loved Mission Bay Park — Mike Gotch. A former Mission Beach Town Council president and San Diego City Councilman who passed away in 2008, Mr. Gotch believed in open access to Mission Bay and pushed for the plan to create this public pathway.

Construction of this bridge was part of our shared commitment to open, public access to the bay. The Mike Gotch Memorial Bridge will keep his memory – and vision – with us always. I thank Mike Gotch’s family and friends for their enduring support and advocacy. In addition, I thank city staff, the engineers at T.Y. Lin International and Campland on the Bay, which generously contributed to the bridge’s construction.

I hope you, your family and your friends enjoy this new community asset for years to come.

— City Councilman Kevin Faulconer represents District 2 on the San Diego City Council, including the communities of Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach and Mission Bay.